Normandy was Robert's by right, although the principle of inherited succession wasn't fully cemented into Norman society it was accepted that Robert was the next rightful Duke. England had no such laws of succession at that time, in theory it was in the hands of the nobles to appoint the next King. In most cases they went for the son of the deceased Monarch, but not always; hence William overlooking his son Robert, who'd caused him so much trouble by rebelling more than once, and therefore nominating William as his heir. 

29 September 1911 - Italy declared war on Turkey.

A late starter in the rush for empire Italy had to be content with two unprofitable and arid territories in north east Africa - Eritrea and Somaliland. An attempt to extend into Abyssinia met with a devastating defeat in 1896 which temporarily halted Italy's colonial ambitions. 

The debilitating weakness of the Ottoman Empire had been seized upon by the British and French in north Africa and Italy saw an opportunity for a "quick" land grab - Libya. In a series of agreements with the European Powers Italy was given free rein to act in Libya. so on 29 September 1911 Italy declared war on Turkey. For a few days nothing happened, but on 3 October an Italian Fleet bombarded Tripoli and troops landed the following day. 

The war ended in October 1912 with the Treaty of Ouchy in which Italy gained the Libyan Provinces of Tripoli and Cyrenaica.

Bismarck & Taranto. Give credit to the slow outdated swordfish for the victories. 

30 September 1139 - The Empress Matilda landed in England.

King Henry I died in 1135 leaving the English and Norman Crowns to his daughter Matilda, however the dual Throne was usurped by her cousin Stephen, Count of Blois who was crowned King before Matilda had even left Anjou in France. 

Matilda was the widow of the Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich V and although she had subsequently married the Count of Anjou she continued to use the title Empress. 

Naturally she protested against Stephen's usurpation and began her campaign firstly by attacking Normandy with her husband Geoffrey, Count of Anjou leading the army. By 1139 much of Normandy was under Matilda and Geoffrey's control. 

Next of course was the English Crown. She found an ally in David, King of Scots who invaded England in 1137 and 1138, but he proved ultimately unreliable signing a treaty in 1139 in which much of northern England was awarded to Scotland. 

Meanwhile large areas of England had risen up in revolt against Stephen and by the late summer 1139 Matilda was ready to sail. She and her (illegitimate) half-brother Robert, Earl of Gloucester landed at Arundel in Sussex on 30 September - the Civil War was about to begin in earnest.   

30 September 1139 - The Empress Matilda landed in England.

King Henry I died in 1135 leaving the English and Norman Crowns to his daughter Matilda, however the dual Throne was usurped by her cousin Stephen, Count of Blois who was crowned King before Matilda had even left Anjou in France. 

Matilda was the widow of the Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich V and although she had subsequently married the Count of Anjou she continued to use the title Empress. 

Naturally she protested against Stephen's usurpation and began her campaign firstly by attacking Normandy with her husband Geoffrey, Count of Anjou leading the army. By 1139 much of Normandy was under Matilda and Geoffrey's control. 

Next of course was the English Crown. She found an ally in David, King of Scots who invaded England in 1137 and 1138, but he proved ultimately unreliable signing a treaty in 1139 in which much of northern England was awarded to Scotland. 

Meanwhile large areas of England had risen up in revolt against Stephen and by the late summer 1139 Matilda was ready to sail. She and her (illegitimate) half-brother Robert, Earl of Gloucester landed at Arundel in Sussex on 30 September - the Civil War was about to begin in earnest.   

That dual Throne thingy again, never seems to work out. One has to be dominant over the other. 

Admiral Henry Pridham Wipple..................................well it does have a nice "ring" to it. I knew it was one-sided Art, but thanks for the details. 

30 September 1139 - The Empress Matilda landed in England.

King Henry I died in 1135 leaving the English and Norman Crowns to his daughter Matilda, however the dual Throne was usurped by her cousin Stephen, Count of Blois who was crowned King before Matilda had even left Anjou in France. 

Matilda was the widow of the Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich V and although she had subsequently married the Count of Anjou she continued to use the title Empress. 

Naturally she protested against Stephen's usurpation and began her campaign firstly by attacking Normandy with her husband Geoffrey, Count of Anjou leading the army. By 1139 much of Normandy was under Matilda and Geoffrey's control. 

Next of course was the English Crown. She found an ally in David, King of Scots who invaded England in 1137 and 1138, but he proved ultimately unreliable signing a treaty in 1139 in which much of northern England was awarded to Scotland. 

Meanwhile large areas of England had risen up in revolt against Stephen and by the late summer 1139 Matilda was ready to sail. She and her (illegitimate) half-brother Robert, Earl of Gloucester landed at Arundel in Sussex on 30 September - the Civil War was about to begin in earnest.   

That dual Throne thingy again, never seems to work out. One has to be dominant over the other. 

Broadly speaking the Norman Kings spent the larger part of their reign in Normandy; the Plantagenets in England (except when fighting the French) and much later the Hanoverians in GB; George III reigned for 59 years and never went to Hanover.    

1 October 1578 - John of Austria died.

Illegitimate son of the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain Charles V. 

Born in Regensburg John was the only illegitimate child Charles formally acknowledged. The boy was taken to Spain at an early age and raised under the name of Geronimo by a courtier Luis de Quijada never knowing his true paternity. When Charles died in 1558 Geronimo aged 11 was recognized in his father's will as his son and accepted as a member of the family by his half-brother the new King of Spain Philip II. 

Known thereafter as John of Austria he entered the army and in 1568 became C-in-C of the Spanish Navy. He served with distinction most notably leading the Christian forces in the great sea battle of Lepanto in 1571 in which the Turkish Fleet was destroyed. 

However his ambition got the better of him. He attempted to establish Christian Kingdoms in the Balkans and North Africa with himself as head. Every attempt failed and wary of his rise King Philip appointed him Gov-Gen of The Netherlands in 1577 hoping the task of suppressing the Dutch Revolt would keep him occupied. 

He could not settle to the life of an administrator and despite signing a peace with the Dutch he renewed the war shortly after resulting in his suspension. He died of typhus aged 31 months later. 

Truth denial is nothing new it seems. The internet has made it far worse though.

2 October 1187 - Saladin captured Jerusalem.

The Christian army in the Holy Land was all but destroyed by Saladin at the battle of Hattin in July 1187, among the prisoners was the King of Jerusalem. Saladin moved on the city taking dozens of Christian strongholds virtually unopposed on the way. 

Jerusalem was poorly defended, there were very few soldiers in the city, they had mostly fallen at Hattin, but thousands of women, children and civilians. The defence was led by Queen Sibylla and a nobleman Balian of Ibelin. Initial attacks by Saladin's forces were repulsed as the city walls were well maintained, it was only after an intense siege bombardment that a breach was made and although the enemy assault was pushed back Balian knew that he could not hold out against another.

A truce was agreed in which a ransom was paid by those who could afford it upon which they were given free passage to the coast and boats to Europe. On 2 October Jerusalem surrendered. Around 15,000 who could not pay the ransom were sent into slavery.

6 October 1536 - William Tyndale executed.

English cleric who translated and printed the Bible into English.

Born in Gloucestershire Tyndale moved to London in 1523 to begin his work into translating the Bible into the language of the common man. However he found publication impossible so the following year he sailed for Hamburg eventually settling in Cologne where he printed his first edition. He never returned to England. After protests he was forced to relocate to Worms, the centre of Protestantism in northern Europe, where he continued his work. 

Over the following five years he wrote and published a number of theological works much to the wrath of the Catholic Church. By 1533 was living and working in Antwerp and it was here that he was arrested by the Imperial authorities at the request of Henry VIII on the grounds that he was spreading sedition in England. 

Imprisoned in Vivorde Castle Tyndale was tried and convicted of heresy and sentenced to be burnt at the stake. In fact he was strangled first before the flames consumed his body. 

The Holy Roman Emperor. Not sure why it took a request from England to arrest Tyndale when he'd been preaching heresy for years in the Empire.

7 October 1748 - Carl XIII, King of Sweden 1809-18 and King of Norway 1814-18, born.

The prematurely aged and ineffectual King, the last of his line.

Younger brother of King Gustaf III Prince Carl was created Duke of Södermanland in 1772. Upon his brother's assassination in 1792 and the accession of his 13 year old son as King Gustaf IV Carl acted as Regent for his nephew until the youth was declared of age in 1796. 

In 1809 following Sweden's disastrous war with France and Russia King Gustaf was deposed with his uncle Carl proclaimed Protector of the Realm until being hailed as King three months later when Parliament disinherited Gustaf's children. 

However six months later at the age of 61 he suffered a heart attack and a mental breakdown from which he never recovered. He had no children and with his nephew's family barred from the succession he was the last of the line. The following year Parliament named a Danish Prince as heir, but he died just four months after arriving in Sweden. So their choice fell upon an unlikely candidate - the French Marshal Jean Baptiste Bernadotte who had acted as Napoleon's benevolent commander in the war with Sweden. He was formally proclaimed Crown Prince in August 1810. In reality he immediately acted as King in all but name as Carl was unfit to govern. 

In 1814 a revival of Swedish fortunes under Bernadotte's guidance saw Norway pass from Danish to Swedish control, a fact of which King Carl was unaware.

He died in 1818.

Undoubtedly, it's a holiday in Israel and many soldiers would have been off duty. 

8 October 1912 - Montenegro declared war on Turkey, the First Balkan War.

The ever feuding Balkan states briefly put their differences aside in 1912 to create the Balkan League; an alliance of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro with the aim of expelling Turkey from Europe.

Their opportunity came within months. By the autumn of that year Turkey was on the verge of defeat in the war with Italy, negotiations had been ongoing since August with every indication that a peace would be signed imminently. The Balkan League sought to go on the offensive while the Turks were preoccupied in north Africa.

Montenegro, the smallest of the Balkan states, seized the initiative by declaring war on Turkey on 8 October with King Nicholas firing the first shot.